RETAKEN. -THE PUNISHMENT-OTHER ADVENTURES-LIBERTY. GUIDED by the sound I went to the old hut, and asked, – ” are you there, Charley?” “Oh dear! I shall die,” was the response. The gleam from the fire gave me light. I saw Charley was care-worn and beaten. His breathing was short and difficult. I stripped, the coveringContinue reading “Jack Bushman’s Tale Part 3”
Category Archives: Convicts
Jack Bushman’s Tale Part 1
In 1859, the Moreton Bay Courier published a series of chapters of convict-era reminiscences by “Jack Bushman”. They are quite a tale, but some background research shows that the reminiscences are quite true. The first section deals with his transportation to Australia in 1818, and the beginnings of a longing for freedom, which brought him to MoretonContinue reading “Jack Bushman’s Tale Part 1”
Henry Cowper, Moreton Bay’s First Doctor.
Henry Cowper was 25 when he came to Brisbane to take up the role of Assistant Colonial Surgeon at Moreton Bay. (Assistant was just part of the title – he was the only medical officer at the settlement.) He arrived at the same time as Captain Patrick Logan became Commandant, to a couple of hutsContinue reading “Henry Cowper, Moreton Bay’s First Doctor.”
Convict Runaways: The life of David Bracewell (Wandi).
In my recent posts on James “Duramboi” Davis, I have referred in passing to David Bracewell (sometimes called Bracefell or Bracefield), known as “Wandi” to the indigenous people of Eumundi. I think now is perhaps a good time to fill in the details. David Bracewell was born in Shadwell, London in 1805 and worked asContinue reading “Convict Runaways: The life of David Bracewell (Wandi).”
Convict Runaways – “Duramboi” Davis Returns.
1842 Several factors combined to bring Duramboi back to Moreton Bay in 1842. His life amongst the indigenous people of the Fraser Coast would have become known to Europeans soon, due to the setting up of sheep stations near his family’s traditional lands. Explorers were mapping the Colony. And the times were changing. 1842 wasContinue reading “Convict Runaways – “Duramboi” Davis Returns.”
Convict Runaways. James “Duramboi” Davis.
This is the first in a series of posts on the life of James Davis or “Duramboi”. The best-known convict absconder from Moreton Bay, he was considered a very bad character in his teens but after 14 years with the indigenous people of the Wide Bay area, went on to be an Interpreter for indigenousContinue reading “Convict Runaways. James “Duramboi” Davis.”
Minor Offences – from the Trial Book of Moreton Bay.
They committed serious crimes and ended up in the Colonies. They reoffended and were sent to Moreton Bay. The prisoners who inhabited the Penal Colony at Moreton Bay between 1824 and 1839 still committed crimes. There were the murderers, who went to Sydney to be tried and almost inevitably found guilty and executed. There wereContinue reading “Minor Offences – from the Trial Book of Moreton Bay.”
Convict Runaways – Fagan and Bulbridge pay the ultimate price.
The Moreton Bay penal settlement was designed to be a place of punishment, but not execution. There was no Supreme Court at Brisbane until the 1850s, no scaffold and no executioner. The prisoners who committed capital offences at Brisbane were taken by sea to Sydney, where they were tried, and if found guilty, executed. TheContinue reading “Convict Runaways – Fagan and Bulbridge pay the ultimate price.”
The Convict Pirates of Moreton Bay – on the run in the South Pacific.
When the Caledonia sailed out of Moreton Bay into open water, Captain George Browning remained under the close watch of the leader of the Caledonia pirates, William Evans, and his deputies Hugh Hastings and William Smith. They were determined to head to the island of Rotumah to hopefully get aboard a whaler or trading ship. CaptainContinue reading “The Convict Pirates of Moreton Bay – on the run in the South Pacific.”
The Convict Pirates of Moreton Bay – the seizure of the Caledonia Schooner
A series of coincidences led to eleven Moreton Bay convicts seizing an opportunity to become pirates and sailing the South Pacific in a rum-soaked bloody adventure in 1832. On 26 June 1831, a ship named America ran aground on a reef in the Torres Straits, near far north Queensland. She had been on a voyageContinue reading “The Convict Pirates of Moreton Bay – the seizure of the Caledonia Schooner”
Moreton Bay and More 